死性不改

Cantonese · source Jyutpingsei2 sing3 bat1 goi2

Meanings

  1. stubborn characteristics (idiom)
About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

seisei1—死sei2to die四sei3labourersei4—sei5—sei6—
bat不bat1notbat2—bat3—bat4—bat5—拔bat6to pull up
goi该goi1should改goi2to changegoi3—goi4—goi5—goi6—

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: si3 xing4 bu4 gai3. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sei2 sing3 bat1 goi2

Cantonese word readings for 死性不改. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

  1. to be too stubborn to change a bad habit

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

CC-Canto · Pleco Inc. · edition 2017-02-02
Source line 10,815 · Original publisher · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edition & transformations
Exact source record & identity死性不改 死性不改 [si3 xing4 bu4 gai3] {sei2 sing3 bat1 goi2} /stubborn characteristics (idiom)/

SHA-256: 685d3947d44964b4cc3cfdd4342c223bb3a123a00c3cab952d9f0f59b2187d8f